In earlier systems for the wrapping of a stretchable foil around a stack of articles or goods, the satellite is mounted beneath a disk rotatable about a vertical axis and raised and lowered in a machine frame to cause the foil to orbit the stack and wind around it as the satellite is raised or lowered.
The foil, after it is wound off the roll, stretches and is thus wound under tension upon the stack. For this purpose it is guided over at least one deflecting roll which is electrically braked. The electrical energy for this purpose and, in general, the electricity used for control and other purposes in this system is supplied or carried off via slip rings. Slip rings are costly, unreliable and prone to rapid wear, thereby creating maintenance problems. Furthermore, it is difficult with existing systems to control the braking energy or, especially upon start up of the system, to provide a different braking energy than at a subsequent portion of the operating cycle.